Customers flock back to parlours on eve of Eid

After months of hibernation, customers desperate to polish themselves are flocking to beauty parlours in Dhaka on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr to be celebrated on Friday.

Most beauty parlours that halved their workforce during the pandemic have been struggling to deal with the swarming customers.

The beauty industry that has been suffering most during the Covid-19 pandemic is also feeling the weight of customer anxiety and the changing experience.

“During the lockdown, we cut 50% of our employees but in the last two days, customers started to return,” said an employee of Persona, the country’s top beauty care shop.

“However, customers are not interested in taking skincare related services like facial, aesthetic, manicure, pedicure and body spa but hair care services,” he said.

Farzana Shakil, the owner of Farzana Shakil's Makeover Salon, said it will be very tough to sustain the business if the lockdown continues for two more months.

“The sales already declined about 80%. Though, the number of customers is rising this week but still not the expected level,” she said.

“The customers are very fussy about taking the services. They would like to beautify their whole bodies during the normal days but in the present situation, they are taking fewer services,” she added.

RED Beauty Parlour & Salon’s Human Resources Manager Mona Pervez said, “We witnessed a 40% fall in customers during the pandemic.”

“The current flocking is not sufficient enough to recover the losses and sustain the businesses for long,” she said.

Auditi Anjum, a customer of RED, said, “Getting back to the parlor was great on the eve of Eid. But I didn’t take skincare services this time to avoid the human contacts in fear of coronavirus infection.”